GIS website gets upgrade

Warren County recently upgraded its geographic information system to make the website more user friendly.

GIS sites let users search online for information about land through maps and data in a given area.

GIS Coordinator Doug Sexton said Friday that a new feature of Warren County’s upgraded site lets users create an information card with property values, zoning and building characteristics and a corresponding map. Users can print the property tax information card, Sexton said.

“We’re taking that information and we’re essentially fusing it with real estate information in order to supply with that owner name, characteristic and how it’s spatially related,” Sexton said.

The upgrade also included an improved search tool, with a drop-down menu, that Sexton called “easier and more intuitive for the user.”

Warren County launched its GIS site in 2005. The Timmons Group, an engineering and consulting firm based in Richmond, hosts the site that it developed for the county. The upgrade is included in the county’s contract with Timmons, Sexton said.

“That’s kind of why we’re characterizing it as an upgrade versus a revamping and launching with a new company and a new product,” Sexton said. “It’s basically their upgraded model.”

The plans to upgrade the site were already in place when Sexton joined the county in July. Sexton then became involved in the process.

Users can access the Warren County site at <a href=“http://www.warrengis.org”>http://www.warrengis.org</a>. Contact Sexton at 636-3354 or <a href=“mailto:dsexton@warrencountyva.net”>dsexton@warrencountyva.net</a> for more information.

Shenandoah County’s GIS site offers the same features and format. Timmons also administers the service, GIS Coordinator Chris Way said. The county upgraded its GIS site in spring 2013.